§ 2503.Physician and Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege
Chapter 40: Oklahoma Evidence Code · Last amended November 1, 2009 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2503 gives a patient the privilege to block disclosure of confidential communications made to a physician or psychotherapist for diagnosis or treatment, subject to exceptions for civil commitment proceedings, court-ordered exams, patient-litigants, inmates, and other disclosure laws.
a.a person authorized to practice medicine in any state or nation, or reasonably believed by the patient to be so authorized, while engaged in the diagnosis or treatment of a mental or emotional condition, including alcohol or drug addiction, or
b.a person licensed or certified as a psychologist under the laws of any state or nation, or reasonably believed by the patient to be so licensed or certified, while similarly engaged; and
4.A communication is "confidential" if not intended to be disclosed to third persons, except persons present to further the interest of the patient in the consultation, examination or interview, persons reasonably necessary for the transmission of the communication, or persons who are participating in the diagnosis and treatment under the direction of the physician or psychotherapist, including members of the patient's family.
B.A patient has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications made for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment of the patient's physical, mental or emotional condition, including alcohol or drug addiction, among the patient, the patient's physician or psychotherapist, and persons who are participating in the diagnosis or treatment under the direction of the physician or psychotherapist, including members of the patient's family.
C.The privilege may be claimed by the patient, the patient's guardian or conservator or the personal representative of a deceased patient. The person who was the physician or psychotherapist at the time of the communication is presumed to have authority to claim the privilege but only on behalf of the patient.
D.The following shall be exceptions to a claim of privilege:
1.There is no privilege under this section for communications relevant to an issue in proceedings to hospitalize the patient for mental illness, if the psychotherapist in the course of diagnosis or treatment has determined that the patient is in need of hospitalization;
2.Communications made in the course of a court-ordered examination of the physical, mental or emotional condition of a patient, whether a party or a witness, are not privileged under this section when they relate to the particular purpose for which the examination is ordered unless the court orders otherwise;
3.The privilege under this Code as to a communication relevant to the physical, mental or emotional condition of the patient in any proceeding in which the patient relies upon that condition as an element of the patient's claim or defense or, after the patient's death, in any proceeding in which any party relies upon the condition as an element of the party's claim or defense is qualified to the extent that an adverse party in the proceeding may obtain relevant information regarding the condition by statutory discovery;
4.When the patient is an inmate in the custody of the Department of Corrections or a private prison or facility under contract with the Department of Corrections, and the release of the information is necessary:
a.to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of any person, or
b.for law enforcement authorities to identify or apprehend an individual where it appears from all the circumstances that the individual has escaped from a correctional institution or from lawful custody; or
5.The testimonial privilege created pursuant to this section does not make communications confidential where state and federal privacy law would otherwise permit disclosure.
Amendment History
Added by Laws 1978, SB 276, c. 285, § 503, eff. 10/1/1978; Amended by Laws 1980, HB 1942, c.
113, § 1, eff. 10/1/1980; Amended by Laws 2002, HB 1939, c. 468, §33, eff. 11/1/2002; Amended by Laws
2003, SB 629, c. 390, §10, emerg. eff. 7/1/2003; Amended by Laws 2004, SB 1397, c. 168, §5, emerg. eff.
4/27/2004; Amended by Laws 2009, SB 994, c. 241, §1, eff. 11/1/2009.
Plain-English Summary
Subsection A defines the players: a "patient" who consults a physician or psychotherapist, and a "psychotherapist" who includes not just doctors treating mental or emotional conditions but licensed psychologists too. A communication counts as confidential if it wasn't meant to reach anyone outside the treatment relationship -- though family members helping with care can be present without breaking that confidentiality.
Subsection B gives the patient a privilege to refuse -- and to stop the physician or psychotherapist from disclosing -- confidential communications made for diagnosing or treating a physical, mental, or emotional condition, including addiction. The patient, a guardian or conservator, or a deceased patient's personal representative can claim it; the treating physician or psychotherapist is presumed to have authority to claim it too, but only on the patient's behalf.
Subsection D carves out five situations where the privilege doesn't apply: civil commitment proceedings where the psychotherapist has found hospitalization necessary; court-ordered examinations, limited to the purpose the court ordered them for; patient-litigants, who open their condition to adverse-party discovery once they put it at issue in a claim or defense; certain disclosures about inmates in Department of Corrections custody needed to prevent a serious threat or catch an escapee; and communications that other state or federal privacy law already permits disclosing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Oklahoma's physician-patient privilege cover routine medical care, or only mental health treatment?
Both. Section 2503 defines "physician" broadly -- anyone authorized, or reasonably believed to be authorized, to practice medicine -- so the privilege reaches ordinary medical communications, not just psychotherapy.
Who can invoke the privilege on a patient's behalf?
The patient, a guardian or conservator, or the personal representative of a deceased patient. The treating physician or psychotherapist is presumed to have authority to claim it too, but only for the patient's benefit.
What happens to the privilege if a patient sues over an injury and puts a medical condition at issue?
Section 2503(D)(3) narrows it: once a patient relies on a physical, mental, or emotional condition as part of a claim or defense, the adverse party can obtain relevant information about that condition through ordinary discovery.
Does the privilege protect an inmate's medical communications?
Not completely. Section 2503(D)(4) allows disclosure of a Department of Corrections inmate's information when release is necessary to prevent a serious, imminent threat to someone's safety, or to help law enforcement identify or catch an escaped inmate.
Can family members be present during treatment without destroying confidentiality?
Yes. Section 2503(A)(4) treats a communication as confidential even when family members participate in the diagnosis or treatment under the physician's or psychotherapist's direction.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as:oklahoma physician-patient privilegepsychotherapist-patient privilege oklahoma12 O.S. § 2503doctor patient confidentiality exceptions oklahoma